Sports match refereeing system

ABSTRACT

A system for refereeing a sports match including a portable processing device for compiling data associated with the sports match and eyeglasses including data display means for displaying the data associated with the sports match to a wearer of the eyeglasses.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 15/877,404, filed on Jan. 23, 2018, which is a continuationapplication of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/777,125, filed onSep. 15, 2015, (U.S. Pat. No. 9,889,367, issued Feb. 13, 2018), which isa national phase of International Application PCT/IB2013/056052, with aninternational filing date of Jul. 24, 2013, which claims benefit fromU.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/802,966, filed Mar. 18, 2013,all of which applications are hereby incorporated by reference as fullyset forth herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to sporting events generally and tomanagement of sports matches in particular.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Traditionally, a sports referee may use several tools to manage a sportsmatch. For example, in a football (soccer) match, the tools may includea coin to toss deciding the team initially in possession of the ball,red and yellow cards to indicate penalties and warnings, and watches tokeep track of the game time and the accumulation of injury time. Duringthe football match the referee may also use a writing instrument andpaper to record information such as yellow/red card warnings issued,scored goals by each team and time of score, the identity of a goalscorer, player substitutions, distances on the playing field, and otherinformation. After the football match, the referee has generallymanually compiled information about the match so it may be recorded in areport, for example, by national and/or international league officialsand/or organizations. Such a compilation process may be time consuming,and may include inaccuracies as the referee attempts to reconstruct theevents of the match after the fact.

In addition to the sports referees, many observers of sports matches,for example, journalists, broadcasters, and spectators, oftenindependently record their own observations during a sports match, andthen may afterward reconcile their observations with the officialrecord. Sports fans may be eager to keep abreast of a match while it isin progress, without having to wait for a reporter to post hisobservations.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,122,559 to Bohn describes “a hand held soccer scoringcomputer for tracking and recording conditions and activities takingplace in a soccer match includes a keypad for entering and a display forshowing information evolving during the course of the event with regardto player, team, activity and activity location, and the game timeassociated with the entry. The recorded data may be contemporaneouslyreviewed and edited and upon completion of the soccer match transferredto a processor printing in desired statistical formats.”

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

There is provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, a system for refereeing a sports match comprising a portableprocessing device for compiling data associated with the sports match;and eyeglasses comprising data display means for displaying the dataassociated with the sports match to a wearer of the eyeglasses.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the data displaymeans includes a data display screen.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the data displayscreen includes a touch screen.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the eyeglassesinclude an eye tracking mechanism.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the eyeglassesinclude a touch pad.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the eyeglassesinclude an imaging unit.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the imaging unitincludes means to zoom into match events.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the imaging unitincludes a range finder.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the eyeglassesinclude a focusing viewfinder.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the eyeglassesinclude a microphone.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the eyeglassesinclude a transceiver for communicating with the processing device.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the eyeglassesinclude a sound transducer.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the data displayscreen displays the match data real-time.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the data displayscreen displays the match data in replay format.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the systemadditionally includes a warning display screen.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the warning displayscreen includes at least one of a single sided screen and a double sidedscreen.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of asingle sided and a double sided screen display a red colored background.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of asingle and a double sided screen display a yellow colored background.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the warning displayscreen includes means to communicate with at least one of the eyeglassesand the processing device over a wireless communications network.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of theeyeglasses and the processing device communicate with a data servercomprising a communications server and a data storage.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of theeyeglasses and the processing device includes means to upload match datafrom the data server.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of theeyeglasses and the processing device includes means to download matchdata to the data server.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the eyeglassesinclude means to control operation of the data display means.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the sports match isa football (soccer) match.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the data displayscreen includes a plurality of thin vertical lines.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality ofthin vertical lines is equally spaced.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the data includesidentification data associated with a player of the sport match.

There is provided, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention, A method for refereeing a sports match comprising compilingdata associated with the sports match on a portable processing device;and displaying at least a portion of the compiled data on a pair ofeyeglasses.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the method includestransmitting at least a portion of the compiled data to a plurality ofglasses.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, transmitting isover a wireless communications network.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality ofglasses is worn by match followers.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality ofglasses is worn by refereeing personnel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter regarded as the invention is particularly pointed outand distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of the specification.The invention, however, both as to organization and method of operation,together with objects, features, and advantages thereof, may best beunderstood by reference to the following detailed description when readwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an exemplary data display glassesincluded in a portable FB-RS, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates an exemplary data display screen in theglasses displaying match data, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a portable FB-RS and its componentswhich include the glasses and an FB-MM, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates an exemplary warning display screenincluded in the FB-RS, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates an exemplary implementation of an FB-RSfor refereeing a football match and as part of a larger match monitoringsystem, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates an exemplary data display screen inlinesman smart glasses, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

It will be appreciated that for simplicity and clarity of illustration,elements shown in the figures have not necessarily been drawn to scale.For example, the dimensions of some of the elements may be exaggeratedrelative to other elements for clarity. Further, where consideredappropriate, reference numerals may be repeated among the figures toindicate corresponding or analogous elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In the following detailed description, numerous specific details are setforth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the invention.However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that thepresent invention may be practiced without these specific details. Inother instances, well-known methods, procedures, and components have notbeen described in detail so as not to obscure the present invention.

The Applicant, in WO 2013/017957 A2 (PCT Application PCT/IB2012/002000),the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety byreference, discloses “A system, method and apparatus for managing afootball match on a hand held electronic device is presented. The handheld electronic devices includes a first display screen disposedsubstantially opposite a second display screen. Pre-match informationfor a first team and a second team are entered into the hand heldelectronic device. Match related events, such as goals, penalties andsubstitutions are entered on the hand held electronic device. The devicecompiles match events and said pre-match information into a match log,and wirelessly transmits the match log to a receiver, such as a matchfollowing device”.

The Applicant has realized that the Football Match Management System(FB-MM) described in previously mentioned, co-pending PCT applicationPCT/IB2012/002000, or a similar hand held device suitable for managingone or more sports matches may be integrated with data display glassesas part of a portable refereeing system, hereinafter referred to asFB-RS, which may serve to assist one or more users monitor and/orreferee sports matches, and which may include football matches. Thesmart glasses may include a display screen for displaying informationassociated with the match (match information or match data) such as, forexample, team and player information, match duration and othertime-related information, scoring information, and other matchmonitoring information which may be input to and/or processed by theFB-MM prior to, during, and following the match. The displayedinformation may include “real-time” data acquired during the match,which may be displayed in “replay” format. The smart glasses may includemeans for controlling the operation of the glasses, for example, forrequesting data to be displayed on the display screen, for inputtingdata to be displayed on the screen, for activating on-glasses dataacquisition means, and for activating on-glasses remote communicationmeans. The control means may include use of voice-activation andeye-movement detection which may allow substantially “hands-free”operation of the FB-RS. Additionally or alternatively, the control meansmay include use of a touch-screen (on the display screen) or a touch-pador other touch-activation means on the frame which may be manipulatedwhile the glasses are worn.

Applicants have realized that the use of the FB-RS by referee and otherrefereeing personnel during a match may be potentially advantageous overthe use of existing refereeing tools as match information may be readilydisplayed on the glasses upon request (verbally or through eye movementor by touching the screen or by touching one of the buttons) whileallowing the refereeing personnel to continuously monitor the playingfield.

Applicants have further realized that the FB-RS may be form part of alarger match monitoring system wherein part of the match data acquiredin the FB-RS system may be shared over a wireless communications networkwith match followers, including spectators, team fans, journalists,broadcasters, among others. The match followers may view the sharedmatch data through a dedicated application program which may bedownloaded to their computing devices which may include personalcomputers, laptop computers, tablet computers, and mobile phones. Thewireless communication network may include, for example a cellularnetwork or a wide area network. Additionally or alternatively, the matchfollowers may also wear smart glasses for viewing the shared match data.

Reference is now made to FIG. 1 which schematically illustrates anexemplary smart glasses 102 included in a portable FB-RS 100, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. For exemplary purposes, FB-RS100 will be described with reference to use in refereeing football(soccer) matches, although the skilled person may realize that the FB-RSmay be used for refereeing substantially any sports match, for example,baseball matches, football matches, basketball matches, hockey matches,volleyball matches, cricket matches, boxing matches, among other type ofsports matches. Smart glasses 102 may be worn by an eyeglass user over,or attached to, a pair of eyeglasses (optical glasses, sunglasses,etc.), or may also be worn by a user who does not wear eyeglasses.

Smart glasses 102 may include a frame 104, a touch pad 105, a display106, an imaging unit 108, a transceiver 109, a microphone 110, and asound transducer 111 (e.g. loudspeaker, earphone, etc.). Additionally,smart glasses 102 may include a housing 103 attached to frame 104 whichmay serve to house any one or more display 106, imaging unit 108,transceiver 109, microphone 110, and transducer 111. Smart glasses 102may be worn by a referee during a football match to assist in monitoringand refereeing the match. Smart glasses 102 may additionally be worn byan assistant referee and/or by linemen to acquire information which maybe transmitted to the referee during the match to assist in therefereeing process. The transmitted information may include visualimages captured by the assistant referee and/or the linemen, and whichmay have been out of a line-of-sight and/or a field-of-view of thereferee.

Display 106 may include a data display screen 107 for displaying datawhich may be viewed by the referee and/or other refereeing personnelcontinuously in the background without interfering with binocularvision. Data display screen 107 may be built into display 106, oralternatively, may be a separate unit which may be placed over thedisplay and may be removable and/or replaceable. Data display screen 107may be additionally or alternatively worn by the referee and/orrefereeing personnel as part of a device which may resemble a wristwatch, or carried elsewhere in the body, for example, as part of adevice which may be inserted in a pocket, attached to a belt, and thelike. Additionally or alternatively, data display screen 107 may beviewed by the referee and/or the refereeing personnel as a projectedimage on a surface of a body part such as the hand, or projected on thesurface of items, or projected as an image I midair. As an alternativeto continuous data display, the data displayed on data display screen107 may be viewed by the wearer on-demand responsive to verbalinstructions issued by the wearer through microphone 110, or responsiveto detection of wearer eye movement by an eye tracking mechanism 115which may be included in housing 103 or on display 106 or elsewhere onframe 104, to wearer touching of the display, or to wearer pressing ontouch pad 105, or any combination thereof.

Reference is now also made to FIG. 2 which schematically illustratesdata display screen 107 including exemplary match data displayed,according to an embodiment of the present invention. The displayed matchdata may be in a single color, for example white or black, or may havedifferent colors which may vary according to the type of informationdisplayed. The displayed data may be automatically acquired real-time bythe RM-FS, acquired upon request by the wearer, preprogrammed accordingto predetermined criteria, or any combination thereof. Some of thedisplayed data may be manually input and/or downloaded to the FB-RS. Theexemplary displayed data may include, but not be limited, to thefollowing:

-   a) name of the guest team, 112;-   b) name of the home team, 113;-   c) match position (2.sup.nd half), 114;-   d) penalty card issued to the home team (red card to player no. 3),    116;-   e) penalty card issued to the guest team (yellow card to player no.    8), 118;-   f) substitution icon for home team (player number 9 was    substituted), 120;-   g) substitution icon for guest team (players number 7 and 10 were    substituted), 122;-   h) goal score counter for home team (home team scored 3 goals), 124;-   i) goal score counter for guest team (guest team scored 1 goal),    126;-   j) viewfinder for imaging unit 108, 128;-   k) alert symbol (indicate malfunctions, communication from other    refereeing personnel, etc.), 130;-   l) accumulated stop time counter, 132;-   m) match time counter (duration), 134; and-   n) additive time counter, 136.

Imaging unit 108 may include any type of video imaging unit suitable formounting on housing 103 or elsewhere on frame 104 and for capturing bothmoving and stationary images during the match, including those of aball, the players, and of the playing field itself. Imaging unit 108 mayallow capturing the moving images which may be displayed on data displayscreen 107 in real-time and/or in replay format. Imaging unit 108 mayinclude a range finder or other suitable means for measuring distances,for example, for measuring minimum distance between a defending playerand the ball during a free kick (e.g. 9.15 m for free kick) or formeasuring any other distances as may be required by the referee fromtime to time during the match. Imaging unit 108 may additionally includezooming capabilities to allow zooming into images in the playing fieldreal-time and/or in replay format. Using the zooming and/or rangefinding features, imaging unit 108 may allow the referee or refereeingpersonnel to replay events which may be associated with a player being“off-side”, a “hand ball” penalty, a “goal”, ball “out of bounds”, amongmany other aspects of a football match's events. Additionally, thezooming and range finding capabilities may allow detection of illegalball movement during a free kick or a penalty kick and may set off analarm which may be displayed on data display screen 107. Furthermore,imaging unit 108 may allow capturing images of the match players forcomparing to previously stored data for corroborating player identity.Additionally or alternatively, range finding and zooming may beimplemented and/or assisted through a focusing viewfinder 128 includedin screen 106 which may allow the wearer to zoom in and out of theplaying field and to determine distances. Additionally, zooming mayinclude all-field viewing allowing the refereeing personnel to view thewhole field from above. Imaging unit 108 may be a separate deviceexternally connected to housing 103 or frame 104, or alternatively,embedded in the housing or the frame.

Transceiver 109 may serve to communicate smart glasses 102 with othercomponents of FB-RS 100 over wireless means, as described further on ingreater detail with reference to FIG. 3. The communication may includereceiving through transceiver 109 some of the match data displayed ondata display screen 107. Additionally, the communication may includetransmitting through transceiver 109 data acquired by means of glasses102, for example, imaging data acquired by imaging unit 108 or verballyinput data through microphone 110, or through touch contacting datadisplay screen 107, or through manually manipulating touch pad 105 orthrough detection of eye movement in the wearer through eye trackingmechanism 115. Transceiver 109 may also be used for enabling verbalcommunications among wearers of glasses 102, for example, between thereferee and refereeing personnel. Transceiver 109 may be formed as partof housing 103 or frame 104 and may include all suitable transmissionand receiving circuitry, including an antenna. Alternatively,transceiver 109 may be attached to housing 103 or frame 104 as aseparate component, the antenna forming part of the transceiver oralternatively embedded in housing 103 or frame 104 and to which thetransceiver may be connected when attached to the housing or the frame.

Microphone 110 may be used by the wearer to verbally provideinstructions to FB-RS 100 regarding system operation and/or operation ofglasses 102. For example, the wearer may verbally activate/deactivatedata display screen 107, transceiver 109, and/or imaging unit 108. Thewearer may verbally instruct FB-RS 100 as to the type of match data tobe displayed on data display screen 107, or may provide instructions tomake changes in any of the displayed information (or to information tobe displayed), for example that shown in FIG. 2. The wearer mayadditionally verbally enter data to FB-RS 100 through microphone 110,possibly overriding use of other data entry methods which may includeuse of touch pad 105 or touch data display screen 107. The wearer mayadditionally provide verbal instructions as to the contents of the datato be received and/or transmitted through transceiver 109, or provideverbal instructions for operating imaging unit 108 including formeasuring distances and for zooming operation. Additionally, the wearermay record verbal data through microphone 110, and which may be storedon glasses 102 or elsewhere in FB-RS 100. Additionally, microphone 110may be used by the referee and/or other refereeing personnel to recordremarks associated with match events for inclusion in the report.Microphone 110 may additionally be used facilitate conversations betweenwearers of glasses 102 (e.g. the referee and refereeing personnel).Microphone 110 may be a separate device externally connected to housing103 or frame 104, or alternatively, embedded in the housing or theframe.

Sound transducer 111 may allow the wearer to listen to himself/herselfwhen entering data and/or providing verbal instructions throughmicrophone 110. Sound transducer 111 may additionally allow the wearerto listen to verbal communications received, for example, as part ofconversations held between the referee and refereeing personnel. Soundtransducer 111 may additionally allow the wearer to receive match datawhich is displayed or being updated on data display screen 107 inaudible form, for example through vocalization of the match data contentor through a notification signal such as for example a “beep”. Soundtransducer 111 may be a separate device externally connected to housing103 or frame 104, or alternatively, embedded in the housing or theframe. As a separate device, sound transducer 111 may be directlyattached to housing 103 or frame 104 and may be removable and/orreplaceable, or may be attached to the housing or the frame through awired connection by means of a cable, or through a wireless connection,for example a Bluetooth connection to transceiver 109. Sound transducer111 may include a miniature loudspeaker, an earphone, a headphone, orany other type of component or mechanism suitable for convertingelectrical signals to sound which may be heard by the user.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3 which schematically illustrates FB-RS100 and its components which include glasses 102 and an FB-MM 150,according to an embodiment of the present invention. FB-RS 100 mayadditionally include a warning display screen 160.

FB-MM 150 may be a computerized control and data collection device andmay include some or all of the features and functions included in theFootball Match Management System (FB-MM) described in the previouslymentioned, co-pending PCT application (published as WO 2013/017957 A2)including the figures therein. FB-MM 150 may be a similar device to theFB-MM but may be configured for use with one or more different types ofsports, for example, for baseball, for football (US), for basketball,among other sports. FB-MM 150 may be adapted to transmit data, which mayinclude data stored in the device, data processed by the device, andcommand data, to glasses 102, some of which may be displayed on datadisplay screen 107. FB-MM 150 may be additionally adapted to receivedata from glasses 102, which may include data acquired by the wearer(e.g. imaging data from imaging unit 108) and data, including commanddata, input by the wearer (e.g. through microphone 110 or by contactingdata display screen 107, through eye movement, through manipulatingtouch pad 105, or any combination thereof). Examples of data which maybe stored, transmitted and/or received, and or processed, by FB-MM 150may include that described in the previously mentioned copending PCTapplication, suitably adapted according to the type of sport match to bemanaged and/or refereed.

FB-MM 150 may allow the wearer, for example the referee or otherrefereeing personnel to input information pertaining to the specificfootball match to be played, for example, the team names, player namesand/or numbers, and the scheduled length of time for the match. Theinformation may be manually input by the user through a keyboard ortouch screen on FB-MM 150, or downloaded to the device from externalsources, for example, a data server 170. Additionally or alternatively,some or all of the information may be downloaded by the wearer to FB-MM150 from glasses 102. Some or all of the features described in thecopending application and may be carried out using FB-MM 150 may bealternatively initiated from glasses 102. Some examples of thesefeatures may include simulating on FB-MM 150 a coin flip to determinewhich team has initial possession of the ball; signifying the start ofthe match to start a match clock; monitoring and recording goals,penalties, and player substitutions; recording times when matchofficials blow a whistle to track the sequence of events during thematch. At the conclusion of the match, FB-MM 150 may be used tosummarize the events of the match for generating a match report, and mayinclude data acquired through glasses 102. FB-MM 150 may additionallycollect data associated with all match events, including all data andcommands, including verbal and visual data, including verbal recordings,into a log file which may serve for record purposes and as input to thematch log. Additionally or alternatively, the events of the match may bestored in glasses 102 and the data may be downloaded to FB-MM 150 forgenerating the report. Additionally or alternatively, the events of thematch may be stored in data server 170, as described further on below.

Communications between FB-MM 150 and glasses 102 may include use of awireless medium 145, and may include use of communication technologiessuch as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, IR (infrared), laser, among otherwireless communication technologies known in the art. Additionally oralternatively, FB-MM150 and glasses 102 may include a wired connectionso that the communication between them is over the wired connection.

FB-MM 150 may be implemented in a relatively small-sized computerizedportable device which may be carried by the wearer of glasses 102 insidea pocket or attached to a belt or other clothing accessory. FB-MM 150may be a dedicated device configured to be exclusively used with FB-RS100, or may be a computerized portable device such as for example, asmartphone or tablet computer to which an application program may bedownloaded and may allow the device to carry out the functions of theFB-MM.

Warning display screen 160 may be a single or double sided screensuitable for displaying a yellow background or a red background,functionally designated to play a same role as the yellow and redwarning cards issued by the referee as a warning to a player during amatch. An exemplary warning display screen 160 is shown in FIG. 4,according to an embodiment of the present invention. Warning screen 160may additionally display against the colored background a number of aplayer who is being issued the warning, and may automatically changecolor from a yellow background to a red background when the same playerhas been twice issued a yellow background warning. Warning displayscreen 160 may communicate with FB-MM 150 and/or with glasses 102 overwireless medium 145 using the previously mentioned communicationtechnologies, and the data displayed may be responsive to command datareceived either from glasses 102 or from FB-MM 150. Warning screen 160may be of a relatively light weight so that it may be readily raised bythe referee to clearly indicate to the match spectators that a playerwhose number is shown on the screen has been issued a warning. As analternative to a separate device which acts as warning display screen160, FB-MM 150 may include features enabling it to act as warningdisplay screen. Such a feature is described in the co-pending previouslymentioned PCT application.

Data server 170 may include a communications server 172 and a match datastorage module 172. Communications server 172 may serve to transmit to,and/or receive data from, FB-RS 100 over a communications network 140.Communications server 172 may additionally serve to interconnect severalFB-RS 100 during a football match, for example to interconnect thereferee and refereeing personnel during the match as described furtheron below with respect to FIG. 5. Communications network 140 may includea mobile phone network, a wide area network (WAN), a local area network(LAN), or other types of suitable networks known in the art, or acombination thereof, and may include the Internet. Communicationsnetwork 140 may be implemented over wireless means, which may includefor example, a wireless WAN, WiMAX, Wi-Fi, a cellular network, asatellite network, among other types of wireless networks known in theart. Additionally or alternatively, communications network 140 may beimplemented over wired means, which may include for example, telephoneland lines, Ethernet connections, AC power lines, among other types ofwired communications networks known in the art.

Data storage 174 may be a dedicated storage for storing informationassociated with all teams playing in a predetermined football league,and may include a list of all players in each football team and detailsrelated to the player. Team player information may include a photographof the player, a uniform number, among other details. Data storage 174may include access to Internet websites where team and team playerinformation may be stored, and through which communications server 172may access the information. Information stored in data storage 174 maybe downloaded through communications server 172 to FB-MM 150 and/or toglasses 102 on a real-time basis, on a predetermined basis, or on demandby the wearer.

Data storage 174 may additionally serve as a storage site for uploadeddata input to FB-RS 100 and acquired through glasses 102 and/or throughFB-MM 150. The data may include real-time match information, or othertype of information (e.g. replay-format information) acquired throughFB-RS 100 as the match progresses. The information uploaded may includethat displayed on data display screen 107 and/or stored in FB-MM 150,and may form part of the data used to generate the match report. Thedata for the match report may be stored in data storage 174 anddownloaded on-demand to FB-MM 150 for generating the match report.Additionally or alternatively, the match report may be generated at dataserver 170 using the uploaded data. Use of data storage 174 for storingdownloaded and uploaded data may be potentially advantageous as memorystorage requirements for glasses 102 and FB-MM 150 may be substantiallyreduced (i.e. most of the data is stored in data storage 174 and may bedownloaded/uploaded real-time). Communications server 172 mayadditionally serve to send parts or the complete match report, which maybe stored in data storage 174, to match followers over communicationsnetwork 140. Alternatively, communications server 172 may send otherdata stored in data storage 174 and associated with the match to thematch followers over communications network 140. This data may includerecorded input data acquired through the match, including images, verbalinputs by the referee and refereeing personnel, including conversations.

Reference is now also made to FIG. 5 which schematically illustratesimplementation of FB-RS 100 for refereeing a football match and as partof a larger match monitoring system 10, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention. The football match is played in a football field180 and includes as refereeing personnel a referee 182, an assistantreferee 184, a first lineman 186, and a second lineman 188. Each of therefereeing personnel is equipped with a FB-RS 100 which includes glasses102 and a FB-RS 150 Referee 182 may be additionally equipped with awarning display screen 160. Additionally or alternatively, the warningdisplay screen may be implemented in FB-MM 150 of referee 182.

FB-RS 100 of referee 182, assistant referee 184, first lineman 186 andsecond lineman 188 are interconnected through communications network 140and may allow the refereeing personnel to verbally communicate with oneanother, and to share images captured real-time, during the game. Forexample, referee 182 may communicate with lineman 186/188 to discuss acall by the lineman, or may view through his (the referee's) glassesimages acquired by the lineman during the play. Referee 182 may view theimages on his glasses in replay-format, or alternatively, the refereemay switch channels in his glasses, or through his FB-MM 150, to switchinto real-time vision as seen by first lineman 186 a or any otherrefereeing personnel through their glasses. The plurality of FB-MM 150may be interconnected to allow the referee, or possibly the otherrefereeing personnel, to access information which may be capturedreal-time, or stored, in the FB-RS 100 of the other refereeingpersonnel.

Larger match monitoring system 10 may allow match data to be shared withmatch followers 190 over communications network 140. Match followers 190may be present in the football stadium during the match, or may beremotely located anywhere in the world, and may be equipped withcomputing devices 152, for example personal computers, laptop computers,tablet computers, and mobile phones, including a downloaded dedicatedapplication program which allows receiving match data from referee 182FB-RS 100. Additionally, computing devices 152 may receive match datafrom other refereeing personnel FB-RS 100. Additionally oralternatively, the match data may be received from data server 170.Additionally or alternatively, match followers 190 may wear a modifiedversion of smart glasses 102 which allows them to receive shared datadirectly to a receiver on the glasses over communications network 140.This modified version of smart glasses 102 may be potentiallyadvantageous as it may be of a reduced cost for mass merchandisingpurposes, the reduced cost of the glasses achievable by providing onlydata reception and display functions on the glasses. The modifiedversion of smart glasses 102 may include commercially available smartglasses known in the art and suitable for displaying the shared matchdata. An application program may be downloadable to the commerciallyavailable smart glasses to allow displaying the shared match data on theglasses. Also downloadable and displayable may be advertising contentsand/or other data contents not limited to the shared match data. Thematch data received may include the match report, and may be received ona real-time basis during match progress. Alternatively, the match datamay be received not real-time, and may include receiving the data onlyafter the match has finalized. The match data received may be selectivedata and may vary according to a type of match follower 190. Forexample, journalists, broadcasters, and sports writers may receive matchdata which may include details not provided to spectators.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6 which schematically illustrates anexemplary data display screen 207 in linesman smart glasses 202,according to an embodiment of the present invention. Linesman smartglasses 202 may be functionally similar to smart glasses 102 modified toallow a soccer game linesman to monitor and determine when an offensivegame player is in an “offside” situation.

Data display screen 207 may be included in display 106 and may include aplurality of thin vertical lines 203 which may be used by the linesmanto identify the position of players relative to one another. Lines 203may be equally spaced and may represent a whole length of the playingfield, or a section of the playing field. Lines 203 may allow glass 202automatic detection of “offside” conditions where one or more offensivegame players may be positioned in the playing field between a lastdefensive player and the goalkeeper. Additionally or alternatively, thedetection may be visually performed by the linesman. Smart glasses 202may be configured to emit a warning signal to the linesman of a detectedoffside condition and correspondingly an “offside” violation. Thewarning signal may be a visual signal displayed on data display screen207. Additionally or alternatively, the warning signal may be an audiosignal emitted through sound transducer 111. Glasses 202 may allowidentification of the offensive play that has committed an offsideviolation, and may allow zooming into the playing area of the offensiveplayer. Additionally, glasses 202 may allow automatic transmission ofdetails associated with the offside violation to glasses 102 worn by thereferee.

Unless specifically stated otherwise, as apparent from the precedingdiscussions, it is appreciated that, throughout the specification,discussions utilizing terms such as “processing,” “computing,”“calculating,” “determining,” or the like, refer to the action and/orprocesses of a computer, computing system, or similar electroniccomputing device that manipulates and/or transforms data represented asphysical, such as electronic, quantities within the computing system'sregisters and/or memories into other data similarly represented asphysical quantities within the computing system's memories, registers orother such information storage, transmission or display devices.

Embodiments of the present invention may include apparatus forperforming the operations herein. This apparatus may be speciallyconstructed for the desired purposes, or it may include ageneral-purpose computer selectively activated or reconfigured by acomputer program stored in the computer. Such a computer program may bestored in a computer readable storage medium, such as, but not limitedto, any type of disk, including floppy disks, optical disks,magnetic-optical disks, read-only memories (ROMs), compact discread-only memories (CD-ROMs), random access memories (RAMs),electrically programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electricallyerasable and programmable read only memories (EEPROMs), magnetic oroptical cards, Flash memory, or any other type of media suitable forstoring electronic instructions and capable of being coupled to acomputer system bus.

The processes and displays presented herein are not inherently relatedto any particular computer or other apparatus. Various general-purposesystems may be used with programs in accordance with the teachingsherein, or it may prove convenient to construct a more specializedapparatus to perform the desired method. The desired structure for avariety of these systems will appear from the description below. Inaddition, embodiments of the present invention are not described withreference to any particular programming language. It will be appreciatedthat a variety of programming languages may be used to implement theteachings of the invention as described herein.

While certain features of the invention have been illustrated anddescribed herein, many modifications, substitutions, changes, andequivalents will now occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. It is,therefore, to be understood that the appended claims are intended tocover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spiritof the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for voice activation comprisingfirst and second devices for interaction between respective first andsecond persons, each of the first and second devices comprising: a firstcamera for capturing or imaging a visual image; a microphone configuredand mounted for capturing the person originated voice; a first displayconfigured and mounted for providing first visual data to the person; asound transducer consisting of, or comprising, a loudspeaker, headphone,or earphone, that is configured and mounted for sounding an auditorydata to the person; an antenna and a wireless transceiver coupled theantenna for wirelessly receiving and transmitting data over a wirelessnetwork; a software and a processor for executing the software, theprocessor coupled to control, receive data from, or transmit data to,the first camera, the microphone, the first display, the soundtransducer, and the wireless transceiver; and a wearable eyewear frameconfigured for mounting or attaching thereon the processor, the antenna,the first camera, the wireless transceiver, the microphone, and thefirst display, wherein the first device is configured for transmitting,by via the antenna by the wireless transceiver of the first device, thevisual image captured by the first camera of the first device, andwherein the second device is configured for receiving, by via theantenna by the wireless transceiver of the second device, the visualimage captured by the first camera of the first device, and fordisplaying, by the first display of the second device, the receivedvisual image, and wherein the first display of the first or seconddevice is coupled to the respective microphone for displaying visualdata on the first display in response to the person originated voicecaptured by the microphone of the respective first or second device. 2.The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and seconddevices further comprising a tactile surface responsive to the persontouch or press mounted on, or attached to, the respective wearableeyewear frame, and wherein the respective device is operative to respondto the person touch or press.
 3. The system according to claim 1,wherein the wireless transceiver is further coupled to the soundtransducer for sounding the auditory data that is responsive to,includes, or is based on, data received from the wireless network. 4.The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and seconddevices further comprises a second camera configured and mounted forcapturing or imaging a person eye or eyes, the second camera is coupledto the processor and is mounted on, or attached to, the respectivewearable eyewear frame of the first and second devices.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 4, wherein in the first device or in the seconddevice the visual image on the first display is responsive to a personeye movement captured by the second camera, or wherein in the firstdevice or in the second device the visual image on the first display isresponsive to the person touch or press sensed by the tactile surface.6. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first device or thesecond device further comprises a memory coupled to the processor and tothe first camera for storing the visual image captured by the firstcamera.
 7. The system according to claim 1, wherein the second device isfurther operative to compare the visual image captured by the firstcamera of the second device and the received visual image captured bythe first camera of the first device.
 8. The system according to claim1, wherein each of the first and second devices further comprises adistance measuring meter for measuring a distance coupled to the firstdisplay for displaying the measured distance, the distance measuringmeter is coupled to the processor and is mounted on, or attached to, therespective wearable eyewear frame of the first and second devices, andwherein the distance measuring meter is based on light, laser, sound,ultrasonic sound, or optics.
 9. The system according to claim 8, whereinthe distance measuring meter is integrated with the first camera. 10.The system according to claim 1, wherein the first device or the seconddevice further comprises a memory, and the respective first or seconddevice is operative to store in the memory the received data from thewireless network.
 11. The system according to claim 1, wherein each ofthe first and second devices is addressable in the wireless network. 12.The system according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and seconddevices is configured to, and shaped for, attach to an opticaleye-glasses or sun-glasses.
 13. The system according to claim 1, whereinthe wireless transceiver consists of, or comprises, a modem(modulator/demodulator) using RF (Radio-Frequency) based Wireless LocalArea Network (WLAN), Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), or WirelessWide Area Network (WWAN).
 14. The system according to claim 13, whereinthe WLAN is according to, or based on, Wi-Fi standard, wherein the WPANis according to, or based on, Bluetooth or ZigBee standard, wherein theWWAN is based on cellular or satellite communication.
 15. The systemaccording to claim 13, wherein the wireless network is according to, isbased on, or is using, a Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN), theantenna is a WPAN antenna, and the wireless transceiver is a WPANtransceiver.
 16. The device according to claim 15, wherein the WPAN isBluetooth®.
 17. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first orsecond device further comprises a random number generator coupled to, orpart of, the respective processor, for generating a random number. 18.The system according to claim 1, further comprising a tactile surfaceresponsive to the person touch or press mounted on, or attached to, therespective wearable eyewear frame, and wherein the first display iscoupled to the tactile surface so that the first device is furtheroperative to display yellow or red background color on the first displayin response to the person touch or press.
 19. The system according toclaim 1, wherein the first device further comprises a second displayscreen coupled to the processor and two opposed first and secondexterior surfaces, and wherein the first display screen is attached tothe first exterior surface and the second display is attached to thesecond exterior surface.
 20. The system according to claim 1, whereinthe sound transducer is coupled to the wireless transceiver and to theprocessor, and the first device is operative to vocalize at least partof the data received from the wireless network.
 21. The system accordingto claim 1, further comprising a third device, the third devicecomprising: a software and a processor for executing the software, thesoftware including an operating system; a memory for storing thesoftware coupled to the processor; an input component, consisting of orcomprising a keyboard or a tactile surface, coupled to the processor forcapturing input data from a person; a display coupled to the processorfor presenting visual information to the person; an antenna and awireless transceiver coupled to the processor for wirelesslycommunicating with the first device; and a hand-held enclosure forhousing the processor, the memory, the input component, the wirelesstransmitter, and the display, wherein the third device is operative toreceive a first data from the person using the input component, to storethe first data in the memory, to display the first data on the display,and to transmit the first data via the wireless transceiver to the firstdevice, and wherein the first device is operative to wirelessly receivethe first input data from the third device, to store the first data inthe memory, and to display the first input data on the first display ofthe first device.
 22. The system according to claim 21, wherein thethird device is operative to receive the visual data captured by thefirst camera of the first device via the antenna by the wirelesstransceiver of the third device, and to display the received visual dataon the display of the third device.
 23. The system according to claim21, wherein the third device consists of, or is part of, a smartphone ora tablet.
 24. The system according to claim 21, wherein the third deviceis configured to, and shaped as, an eyewear device.
 25. A systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of two or moredevices, each identical to the first device, wherein the plurality oftwo or more devices are configured for communicating with each otherover a communication network via the respective antennas and wirelesstransceivers.
 26. The system according to claim 25, wherein thecommunication network is a Wireless Wide Area Network (WWAN) or aWireless Local Area Network (WLAN), and each of the antennas isrespectively a WWAN or WLAN antenna, and each of the wirelesstransceivers is respectively WWAN or WLAN wireless transceiver.
 27. Thesystem according to claim 1, wherein the visual image captured by thefirst camera of the first device comprises a first human image, andwherein the visual image captured by the first camera of the seconddevice comprises a second human image.
 28. The system according to claim1, wherein the first or second device is configured to compare first andsecond human images for determining that they both include the sameperson.
 29. The system according to claim 1, wherein the first or seconddevice further comprises a memory coupled to the respective processorand to the respective microphone for storing a person originated voice.30. The system according to claim 29, wherein the respective soundtransducer is coupled to the respective memory for playing the storedperson originated voice.